Seybert: President 180 does it again

Going into damage control, President Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani told ABC News he’s not ruling out the possibility that Michael Cohen paid off other women. Nathan Rousseau Smith has the story.

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Mack Sennett, creator of the Keystone Kops in the early 1900s, has taken up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. If you thought Donald Trump lived there, you're not entirely wrong, but it’s Mr. Sennett who runs the place. Trump is simply one of the actors, an important one to be sure, who’s living up to expectations — if the Keystone Cops are your idea of presidential expectations.

You'll remember the Keystone Kops, comic heroes of the silent-film era, depicted by Mr.
Sennett as the bumbling incompetents of many slapstick movies. Perhaps you're thinking that the comparison between Trump and his lawyers seems backwards, since it's the cops (i.e., the Mueller investigation and the Southern District of New York) who, in this case, are the competent ones. The bumblers? Trump, his attorneys, and others in his administration who supposedly run the show. For this movie, Sennett has reversed the roles.

A recent scene: the May 2 interview of Rudy Giuliani conducted by Sean Hannity. In the interview, Giuliani, newly hired as another of Trump's attorneys, revealed that Trump had reimbursed his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, the $130,000 that Cohen paid Stephanie Clifford (Stormy Daniels).

Trump had previously denied knowing anything about the $130,000. Giuliani indicated otherwise, and further stated that, since Trump had Cohen on a $35,000-per-month retainer, the reimbursement had nothing to do with any campaign finance violation. It beggars belief, however, that Trump knew nothing about the payment to Clifford, which occurred a couple of weeks before the Nov. 8 election. When something doesn’t smell right, there’s likely stink in the air.

The president followed up Giuliani's interview with a series of tweets that confirmed the
payment. But on Friday, The New York Times reported that the president, on his way to Dallas for the NRA convention, undercut his new hire, saying of Mr. Giuliani, "He'll get his facts straight.” Then, in response to a question about when he found out what the retainer was being spent on, the president added, “Well, you’re going to find out, because we’re going to give a full list. And people know. And virtually everything said has been said incorrectly, and it’s been said wrong, or it’s been covered wrong by the press.”

President 180 performs yet another about-face. Who said this man was incapable of making a pivot? His underlings know otherwise. That’s why the West Wing seems inhabited by the Keystone Kops, trying to follow their leader’s turns and about-faces, whose swift changes make Taylor Swift envious.

This instance of continuing chaos perhaps started on Thursday, April 26, when the president was "interviewed" on Fox and Friends, his favorite TV show. If you like listening to 30-minute, incoherent tirades, this one’s for you. Watch the faces of the three hosts as the rant goes on: they become progressively dumbstruck. Finally, they have to end the conversation, by telling the president they’re sure he has a multitude of important things to do. High theater, that. It makes one wish for the return of silent movies.

Because President Trump thrives on chaos, we should not be surprised that he and his allies attack valued institutions without reprieve or remorse. The Great Disrupter has disrupted. His pummeling of the Mueller investigation, the Justice Department, the intelligence agencies, the press, and anyone that opposes him will not end soon, but only increase and intensify.

Hang on to your hats, ladies and gentlemen — the Keystone Cops are steering the vehicle. Here’s hoping the nation survives the ride.